Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi (28 March 1971-) was Chairwoman of the UK Conservative Party from 12 May 2010 to 4 September 2012, succeeding Eric Pickles and preceding Grant Shapps. She became a member of the House of Lords on 15 October 2007.

Biography
Sayeeda Warsi was born in Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire, England on 28 March 1971 to a family of Pakistani immigrants. Her father's transition from a mill worker and bus driver into a successful bed manufacturing company owner led to her adopting conservative principles. Warsi ran for the House of Commons in 2005 as the UK Conservative Party's candidate for Dewsbury, having previously worked as a lawyer. She became the first Muslim woman to run as a Conservative, but her views were less progressive; she distributed homophobic literature on the campaign trail. In 2007, she became Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion, and she became the House of Lords' youngest member in order to enable her to hold that position. In 2007, she assisted in negotiating the repatriation of a British teacher in Sudan who had been arrested for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad" (which was deemed "blasphemy" in Sudan). In 2010, she became Chair of the Conservative Party, and Prime Minister David Cameron appointed her Minister without Portfolio, the first Muslim woman to serve in the cabinet. From 2012 to 2014, she served as Minister of State for Faith and Communities (succeeding Hazel Blears and preceding Eric Pickles), and she also served as the first Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at the same time, preceding Joyce Anelay. She resigned in 2014 with the start of the Gaza Strip conflict, as she was upset that the government did not support Palestine.